Partial support is requested for 5 years for continuing annual research conference entitled the Weinstein Conference on Cardiovascular Development . This is the premier meeting in the country for cardiovascular development and brings together representatives from every major laboratory working in this area. The meetings rotate under the organization of specific research groups and emphasize presentations by younger investigators. The participants at the most recent meeting were 55 percent Ph.D.s, 25 percent M.D.s and 20 percent graduate students. The goals of the meeting are the discussion of the most current research results and development of collaborations in the area of heart and vascular development. Topics included in these conferences include cardiac morphology, cardiac function, genetics of human cardiovascular defects, experimental cardiovascular embryology, muscle cell organization, regulation of gene expression in the cardiovascular system, transgenic and null mouse models. Assistance by the NHLBI would provide increased accessability for students, an improvement in year to year planning for these meetings and increase the representation of women and minorities among conference speakers.
